The Crazier the Better
by Marsfish
Summary: Lucy was admitted into a mental rehabilitation facility for teens. The basis for her admittance is a lie, but she can't tell anyone. In fact, she's lost the will to speak altogether. Over time, she will learn, with the help of friends she meets, and a certain pyromaniac, that being around "crazies" might just be better. (Warning: lemons, abuse, and self-harm)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Lucy didn't think that her life would turn out this way. Not in a million years. She was sitting on a couch across from what she assumed was a therapist, named Mira. At the beginning of the hour, Mira asked quite a few questions. However, as time went on, and Lucy still didn't utter a single word, she stopped asking questions and just stared. Lucy fidgeted nervously as Mira seemed like she was boring a hole into her soul. She watched as Lucy continually pulled at the ends of her long sleeve shirt.

Lucy sure as hell didn't want to be there. She didn't think she had any reason to be there. Well, maybe one reason. But they believed a lie, they brought her here because of a lie. She couldn't bring herself to tell them that though. Hell, she couldn't bring herself to tell anyone anything. She couldn't bring herself to speak anymore, it was no use; they believed what they wanted to believe, and her opinion didn't matter. She hasn't spoken in such a long time. She wasn't crazy though, so she didn't see why she had to be here at all. She didn't see why that woman had to stare at her with those big, blue eyes. Wow...she's really pretty. Her hair is so long and white. When will this be over?

Finally, as the hour was about to end, Mira finally stopped staring. She got up, went around her desk, grabbed a notebook and pen, and handed it to Lucy, who tentatively accepted it. "Keep that with you, Lucy. I want you to try to communicate with people using it. It might not be as good as talking, but it will be a step in the right direction. Can you do that for me?" Lucy averted her eyes and meekly nodded. Mira smiled. "Good. I will see you in a week, and I want to be able to talk to you, even if it means you writing in there." There was a knock on the door and a very large man with spiky, blonde hair and a scar over his eye came in the room. "Ah! Laxus this is Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia. Lucy, he will be your guide for the evening and get you situated at the facility. Feel free to ask him any questions you might have." She giggled and Lucy almost glared at her, ' _Did she really just do that?'_ Lucy thought.

"Well, come on, Blondie, we don't have all day." Laxus' deep voice made her jump slightly, and she scrambled to grab her pink duffle bag and scurried over towards him; he was rather intimidating. He stepped aside so that she could pass through the door.

"Have a good week, Lucy!" Mira shouted. "And welcome to Fairy Tail!" She didn't respond as she waited for Laxus on the other side of the door.

"I'll see you at lunch, Mira." He winked at her, making her blush.

"I'll see you then, Laxus." She smiled at him.

Laxus chuckled as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. He looked at the blonde leaning against the wall. "So I've been told that you don't talk." She looked up at him and nodded quickly. He smirked, "Well, that makes this a whole lot easier for me." He started walking and she scowled at his words as she ran to catch up with him. "So, this is the main hall, it connects to everything."

The first thing she noticed about this 'main hall' was that it was very, very white. White walls, white counters, white ceiling. She guessed she couldn't really expect too much, since it was a hospital and all. She refused to refer to it as an institution...not gonna happen...it's a hospital. But she's not sick...well, fuck...fine it's an institution. The nurses fucking wore white coats...the doctors fucking wore white coats...Laxus fucking wore a white coat….everything...was...fucking...white. ' _It's so bland it's almost claustrophobic'._ She absentminded started rubbing the inside of her arm. The nurses behind the counter were staring at her, and she ran up to walk closer to the big man in front of her. Suddenly he stopped and she ran into his back with an "oomph".

He turned his head slightly and raised an eyebrow at her. "Careful, Blondie." She blushed in embarrassment. He motioned to the room he was standing in front of. "This is the game room. It should quell all of your...gaming needs." The room was white again, and there was a ping-pong table, a foosball table, and some tabletop games strewn around different tables. Honestly, she didn't think it was much of a game room at all. She ran after him as he started walking away again. As he turned a corner, she noticed a few benches near a payphone, as well as some vending machines. He stopped at a doorway, "This is the classroom." He whispered. She peered inside and her eyes widened. So that's where all of the people were, she was wondering why the halls were empty. The room was full of teenagers, sitting around tables and appeared to be….drawing? "Obviously, there's no actual school here, it is a mental rehabilitation facility after all. The types of classes differ from day to day, so you'll just have to figure it out."

She rolled her eyes at him, he sure wasn't one for explanations. Her eyes drifted to one table with four people sitting there. There was a boy with raven hair and...shirtless! And a boy with...pink...hair….and a girl with red hair, and then a girl with blue hair. Wow...these people look very….unique….The boy with pink hair turned his head to see who was in the doorway. Her eyes locked onto his, and heat rose to her cheeks as he stared intently at her. He elbowed the raven haired boy's side, and he in turn whipped his head around to glare at the pink one. He followed the pink one's gaze and met her eyes, and her blush deepened. Why were they so good looking? "Alright let's get you to your room." She broke eye contact and scurried after the retreating figure of Laxus. After going down a few corners, they came upon a room at the very end of the hallway. "You're lucky, you get a room all to yourself." He said as he opened the door. She entered the room and the walls were….white, shit what was she expecting? "I'll let you settle in. I'll be back in about 30 minutes to bring you to lunch. After that, you'll need to see the nurse for some blood work. See you then." He closed the door.

She looked around the room and noticed...nothing. It was a bed, an end table, a door that she assumed was the bathroom, and a small dresser. White sheets...she walked over to the bed, placed her bag down, and fell onto the mattress...bad idea, it was hard as a rock. She couldn't believe this is where she was...why did it have to be like this...she curled up into a ball as the first tear she'd been holding all day slid down her cheek. She started scratching her wrists, wishing she had her razor with her. She couldn't free her emotions the way she wanted to, so she sobbed. She sobbed long and hard, waiting to get the rest of the day over with...and hopefully get out of here somehow. It was suffocating, drowning in the white walls, the double gates that she first came through on this floor of the hospital reminding her that there is no escape. _'Why am I here? I'm not crazy! I shouldn't be here! There's nothing wrong with me! This is all a lie! A mistake!...But I don't want to go back either...I don't know what to do.'_

* * *

The sound of a knock on her door, forced her to tear her gaze away from the mirror in the bathroom. She picked up the notebook and pen from her bed and opened her door.

"You hungry?" Laxus asked. She shook her head. "Well, that's too bad. You're still gonna eat. Let's go." She was taken back for a minute before she shook her head and followed after him. When they got to the lunchroom, she subconsciously shifted closer to Laxus. There were a lot of people, and most of them were staring at her. "Go grab some food and sit somewhere, I'll grab you when we need to go see the nurse." With that he strode off and left her there, in the front of the lunchroom, alone. She shifted nervously from one foot to the other as she just stood there. The tables were pretty full and she wasn't up for introducing herself.

The dark haired boy from earlier noticed the blonde standing awkwardly into the middle of the room, and elbowed the pink haired one beside him. When the pink haired one turned to glare at him, he tilted his head. Much like earlier, actually exactly like earlier, the pink haired one followed his gaze to see the blonde from earlier that day, looking uncomfortable and nervous. Instantly, he shot up from his seat and strode towards her. She unconsciously took a few steps back as he neared her. When he was too close for her personal comfort, he flashed her a big grin that sent heat to her cheeks, and he stuck his hand out. "Hey there! I'm Natsu!"

...what was she supposed to do now? She wasn't sure, so after a moment of staring at him, watching his grin drop, she waved at him. He tilted his head, staring at her like she just grew a third eye, and retracted his extended hand. "So, what's your name?"

Well, she supposed she could write it down, so that's what she started to do. He watched her intently as she opened the notebook, and touched the pen to the paper...only, that's as far as she went. Her brow furrowed as she stared at the spot where her pen was firmly pressed. She didn't understand why she couldn't continue, it was like an invisible force was preventing her from continuing the little black dot. Her hand started shaking, and she watched as the dot got a little bigger. "Hey, you okay?" She gasped at his sudden question, and she dropped her pen. She had completely forgotten he was there. He bent down to pick up her pen, and held it out for her. She reached out a shaky hand to accept it, giving him a smile, which was more like a twitch of her lips, as a thank you.

"Hey, don't worry about it, you don't have to tell me your name if you don't want to. Oh! I got it!" He suddenly snapped it fingers, startling her. "I'll give you a name for now!" She eyed him warily as he brought his finger to his chin and hummed in thought. She jumped when he suddenly shouted, "Aha! I'll call you Pepper!"

...huh?

She scrunched her face up at the name, while grinned that amazing grin again. Her face didn't heat up this time, though. She could only stare at him like he was crazy...well, seeing as he was in here, he probably was. "Well, come on, Pepper! I'll show you how you get your food!"

She could only stare dumbly as he started walking away, waving his hand for her to follow him. Was he serious? Why do you need to show someone how to get food? She slowly started moving her legs to follow him. He waited for her halfway across the room, and when she caught up, he started walking again. He led her to a small counter, where a woman with short, purple hair was standing behind it. "Hey, Kinana!"

"Natsu, you've already gotten your lunch! You know the rules!" Her words sounded fierce and authoritative, but she held a gentle smile on her face...it was a very strange contradiction.

Natsu laughed, "I know that! I'm showing her how to get her food." He pointed his thumb at her. "She's new."

"Oh! I remember now! It's nice to meet you!" Her heartwarming smile almost melted Lucy's heart...almost. "Let's see. Your name was just added to the list." She watched as Kinana trailed down a piece of paper on a clipboard with a pen. "Ah! There you are! Wait right here. One meal coming right up!"

Lucy turned to Natsu with a questioning look, but only stared back at her, blinking. Suddenly, like a lightbulb just went off in his head, his eyes lit up and he started to explain. "Oh yeah! She has to mark you off a list when you get your food. That way they know who's eating and who's not, also to make sure you don't get two meals." He grumbled the last part, and remembering the woman's earlier statement, Lucy presumed that he has tried to get two meals on more than one occasion.

"Here you go!" Kinana came back, handing her a tray of food. She saw what looked like some kind of burrito wrapped in tin foil, a bowl of baked beans, a small salad, and a cup of water. She was suddenly disappointed when she noticed that everything, fork included, was plastic.

Seeing as Lucy was just clutching her notebook, making no move to grab the tray, Natsu decided to do it for her. "Here, I'll carry it for you, since your hands are full."

Kinana hesitantly handing him the tray. "Don't you dare eat this, Natsu Dragneel."

The said boy just grinned sheepishly. "Wouldn't dream of it." He then started to walk away. "Come on, Pepper!" She watched as he grabbed an empty chair and shoved the dark haired boy roughly, setting the new chair down and her tray. She let out a little groan when she saw how many people were sitting at that table. She saw the same people from before, with the addition of a girl with long, wavy, blue hair; and a boy with long, spiky, black hair, and piercings all over his face. She gulped and her eyes darted around the room, debating if she should try to make a break for it and go to her room. Her eyes landed on Mira and Laxus on the other side of the room, who were watching her closely. Damnit, they're observing my behavior. Sucking in air, she made her way over to where Natsu was looking at her expectantly. She clutched her notebook closer to herself as she drew nearer, she almost stopped in her tracks when everyone's eyes were suddenly on her; but Natsu flashed her that heartwarming grin, and it gave her the courage to finally approach the daunting table.

"Come on, Pepper, sit down!" Natsu patted the chair beside him.

"Yeah, don't worry, we don't bite." The raven haired boy gave her a lopsided grin.

"Much." The pierced boy smirked.

She gulped and finally sat down with them.

"So, your name is Pepper?" The red haired girl asked. Lucy shook her head and looked down at her lap.

"What the hell, flaim-brain?! You said her name was Pepper!"

"Well, she wouldn't tell me her name, so I gave her one." Natsu scratched the back of his neck.

"Natsu," The bluenette sighed. "You can't just give people fake names."

"What was I supposed to do? Call her 'hey you'?"

"Why Pepper?" The pierced man asked.

"Well, duh! I love peppers! They're super hot!" Everyone at the table chuckled, while Lucy's face turned a bright shade of red.

"Geeze, way to be blunt, Natsu." The raven haired one grinned. "You know, you're supposed to eat that." He gestured to her untouched tray. Lucy looked at it and gave him a slight nod, before she started to unwrap the burrito. "Anyways, my name is Gray."

"I'm Levy!" The bluenette chimed.

"Gajeel." The pierced one muttered, she almost didn't hear him.

"I am Erza." The red haired stated.

"..."

Everyone looked at the girl with long, wavy, blue hair, but she was staring at something, dreamily. Lucy followed her gaze to her cup of water. "May...may Juvia have your cup of water?" She looked like she was about to melt into a puddle, so Lucy nodded. A bright grin flashed on her face as she hastily grabbed it and slowly poured it over her. Her head tilted back and she let out a long, low moan. All of the guys had a tint of pink on their cheeks, and Lucy was openly gaping at her. Levy and Erza just rolled their eyes.

"Chill out, Juvia * _crunch*,_ you know that Mira saw that." Gray said while chewing on an ice cube.

"You're one to talk, ice face."

"What'd you say, flame breath?!"

"You heard me!"

"Shut up!" Erza growled, silencing everyone, even Lucy, who was already quiet.

When everyone started talking again, Lucy silently slipped the fork underneath the table. She started bending one of the spikes, and when she felt it about to snap, she scooted her chair a little, as to cancel out the noise. She took the broken piece and slipped it into the pocket of her jeans, and resumed eating like nothing happened. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Levy slip her burrito onto an oblivious Natsu's tray. When he finally noticed it, he beamed happily and ate it, not seeming to care where it came from. She looked over to Gajeel, and saw him eating the plastic fork….that is...strange.

"So, Pepper." She jumped when she heard her designated name, and turned to look at Levy. "Did Mira give you that notebook?" She nodded slowly, clutching it a little tighter to her chest. Everyone seemed to hum and nod, as if agreeing to something, or maybe coming to and understanding.

"I think you look more like a Daisy." Gajeel stated. That name in itself seemed like it was a criminal to have left that man's mouth.

"What?! No way, metal face! She's a total Pepper!" Natsu defended.

"I dunno, Natsu. I think I agree with Gajeel." Levy chirped.

"Well, of course you do!"

"Ehh?! What's that supposed to mean?!" She shrieked, face turning red.

"It means, you always agree with him." Gray smirked.

"I do not!" She buried her face in her hands. "You guys are horrible."

Suddenly, a shadow loomed over the table. Lucy looked up to see the intimidating form of Laxus. She shrunk back a little.

"Hey, Laxus!" Natsu beamed.

"Hey guys." He nodded and turned his gaze to Lucy. "Well, let's go."

"Where are you taking her?" Natsu asked, a slight fear in his eyes.

"Just the nurse. Still gotta complete her admission." Everyone at the table let out a sigh of relief that confused her. She didn't have time to dwell on though, because Laxus was already halfway across the room. She jumped up to follow him, sending a small wave over her shoulder.

"Cya, Pepper!"

"Bye, Daisy!"

"Oi! It's Pepper!"

"No it ain't! It's Daisy!"

The bickering voices died out as she followed Laxus out of the room, and down the dreary, white hallway. She finally let her tense shoulders relax, now that she was away from those crazy people. They rounded many corners before finally reaching their destination. She followed Laxus into a room that had that god awful hospital smell. "Hey, Wendy."

"Oh, Hi Laxus! How are you?" She heard a sweet, cheery voice come from the front of Laxus. She was hiding behind him. She was getting really stressed out by meeting so many new people. She started scratching at her wrist while she listened to them exchange formalities. "So, what brings you here?"

"The new patient."

"Where is she?"

"Hmm?" He looked around and nearly jumped when turned to see her literally inches from his back. "Jesus. Blondie, this is the nurse, Wendy. She's gonna take your blood, so sit down in that chair."

She followed his finger and sat on a white lounger with a single armrest. "Hello, Lucy! I'm just going to take some blood samples, if you start to feel faint, just tug on Laxus' jacket." He leaned against the wall next to her, and kept his arm within her reach. She turned her head to watch as Wendy got out some tubes and one that looked like a half tube with a need. She pulled out some latex gloves and put them on, giving the signature snap. Lucy always wondered why doctors did that. "Alright, you're just gonna feel a little pinch."

That was definitely more than a pinch, she wanted to call her a fucking liar, but she was just adorable. Was she even old enough to be doing this? Her thoughts cut off when the blood started flowing into the attached tube. She sighed and laid her head back. This was just the release she'd been waiting for. "They would have done this in the hospital, but your blood count needed go up before doing this. I'm sure you understand." She was only barely listening to her, she was too immersed in the euphoric feeling. She didn't notice when Wendy was finished and started talking to her.

A loud snap next to her ear brought her out of the wonderful daze she was in, and she looked up to see Laxus looking at her with a raised eye. Him and Wendy shared a look, while Lucy blinked owlishly at him. "C'mon, Blondie, lets get you to your room." He helped her stand shakily on her legs, and she clutched to his arm.

"Bye, Lucy! Bye, Laxus!"

Laxus grunted, but Lucy made no move to reply. She was still slightly in her trance, and she barely put one foot in front of the other while Laxus helped her through the halls. Some of the patients were roaming the halls now, but she didn't really notice. Her mind started to clear up as they neared her room at the end of the hall. Laxus opened her door, and helped her lay down on her bed. She was honestly surprised he was helping her, but maybe that was just his job. "Alright, Blondie. You can do whatever you want for the rest of the day. Someone will be by in a little while, just listen for the knock. I'll be around in the morning for your wake up call. Cya, Blondie."

She heard the door click shut, and groaned as she rolled over. She gingerly touched the bandage in the crook of her elbow, and she sighed. Her head was hurting now, and her euphoria was gone. She groggily got up and trekked to her bathroom. She pulled out the plastic tip that she took off the fork and stashed it underneath the sink. She trudged back to the bed and plopped down. She closed her eyes and involuntarily decided to take a nap.

A knock on the door jolted her awake, and she barely sat up before a man with scissors came into the room. "Hello, baby. I'm cancer." She waved gingerly as he grabbed her bag at the foot of the bed. "Alright, let's see, baby." She tilted her head as he dumped the entire contents of her bag on the bed. She watched him hold up one of her shirts...and cut off the sleeve. She could only stare on in horror at the falling fabric as he cut off the sleeves of all of her shirts. He even cut off the legs of her pants, and shortened her skirts. She didn't understand why the fuck he was doing this. They already took all of her shoelaces, hair clips, hair ties, and shower razors. "There we go! Oh, one more." He turned to her, and she backed up into the wall as he came towards her with those fucking scissors. She put up her hands in defense, and she clamped her eyes shut. She heard a few ripping noises, and she cracked an eye open to see the bare skin of her arms and legs…..did he just?

"There you go, baby! I'll be leaving now." He gathered the tattered remnants of fabric and left the room. She exhaled shakily and fell to the ground. Why? Why did he have to do that? Now everyone will see. She held up her arms, and cringed at the sight of all of her scars. A tear slipped out of her eye, and she reached for her notebook on the bed. She opened it and saw the black dot on the first page. She moved over it with her finger as her tears fell. Was this supposed to be progress? Was she as crazy as those people from before? She laid her head back and closed her eyes. She wasn't crazy, she was sure of it.

* * *

 **So, I probably shouldn't have started a new story right now, but I couldn't g** **et this idea out of my head, and I didn't want to forget it either. So yeah, here it is. Can you guess what everyone has? They're all real disorders by the way. Just to make myself clear, I do not encourage or condone self-harm, and it is not a joking matter, so please don't get your panties in a twist. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this story! Also,the disclaimer, I do not own Fairy Tail...had to put that somewhere I guess.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A loud knock startled Lucy awake, so much so, that she could have sworn her heart stopped as she shot upright. "Time to wake up! Breakfast in 15!" She heard the booming voice of Laxus on the other side of the door. She had almost forgotten where she was, unfortunately, she knew now. She lightly groaned as she fell back down onto the mattress, only to cringe when she bounced from the hardness of it. She sighed as she stared at the ceiling, before throwing the covers off of her. She groaned as she stepped onto the cold floor, and numbly made her way to the bathroom. She yawned as she turned on the light, and she cringed when she looked at herself in the mirror. She was a complete mess. She quickly took a shower, and brushed her teeth. She walked in her towel to the dresser by her bed, and started to sift through her clothes. She held up one of her favorite blue shirts as she stared at it in horror.

She had forgotten. Oh god, why had she forgotten that all of her sleeves were gone?! She couldn't go out there like this! Why would these people do this to her? Was this supposed to be part of her 'road to recovery?' She took a deep breath, and with shaky hands, she pulled out a frighteningly short pair of Jean shorts, a black now tank top, and a black bra. Once she put her clothes on and looked in the bathroom mirror, she started freaking out. All of her scars were completely visible. Her arms looked wrinkled. She started to breathe heavily, and she sunk down onto the floor and brought her knees to her chest, hugging them tightly as she shut her eyes. She couldn't do this, it was too much.

A knock at her door had her trying to shrink further into herself. "You're late, Blondie! Time to go!" The intimidating voice of an angry Laxus filtered through her ears, and her lower lip started to tremble. She chanted 'don't come in' over and over again in her head. She couldn't handle anyone seeing her like this. It was just way too much for her to handle. "Blondie! Open up!" She clenched her eyes shut and put her hands over her head. Her heartbeat rapidly increased when she heard the click of the door opening, and heavy footsteps entering the room. "C'mon, Blondie. We don't have time for this." Her heart nearly stopped when she heard his footsteps enter the bathroom. ' _No, no ,no ,no. Go away. Don't look at me.'_ She whimpered when she felt his presence next to her, and started shaking her head.

Laxus studied her for a moment, before he crouched down next to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder, which she flinched away from. He sighed, it looked like he would actually have to do his job today. "Blondie." He started in a soft voice that was surprisingly hard for him to use. "I'm gonna need you to be strong for a minute and look at me." She slowly lifted her head just enough to peek at him through her fingers. "I understand that you're scared, and that's okay. No one in this building will pass judgement on you. There's a reason for every single one of you kids being here, so you're not alone in this. They may be different reasons, but at the core, you share common triggers and hardships." She blinked at his words, she didn't believe him, she was always alone, and everyone judged. "I can bring your breakfast here if you want, but on one condition." She mulled it over in her head for a minute, then she meekly nodded. "After you eat, you're gonna come with me to go see Dr. Mira, okay?" Her eyes widened, and she instantly knew what he was trying to do. She didn't want to go see that lady, she was unsettling to say the least. Her stomach won out though, so she nodded mutely and buried her face in her knees again. Laxus patted her shoulder lightly. "Good." He stood up and gave her one more once over. "I'll be back in a bit then."

She listened as his footsteps got quieter, before the click of the door signalled his exit. She shakily lifted her head, and wiped her tears as she sniffled. She crawled towards the sink and felt around for the only thing she wanted. She let out a sigh as she grabbed the piece of plastic that was stashed there, and crawled back to the wall, resting against it. She couldn't use her arms, Mira would see it, so she lifted up her shirt to reveal a relatively smooth stomach, with only three small scars going up the right side. She held the tip of the plastic against her side and pressed down hard. Her brows furrowed when she barely felt any pain, and she pushed harder. With all her might, she swiped it in a sideways motion, only to have a lump form in her throat when only the barest of red made itself visible. She barely even broke the epidermis. Her teeth clenched and she threw the plastic against the wall as new tears started to fall. She clutched her hair in her hands and drew her knees up again. She felt so pathetic in that moment. Frustrated, angry, sad, and lonely is what she felt. She didn't know how she could feel all of it at the same time, but it was making her chest ache.

She didn't know how long she sat there before Laxus entered the bathroom again. She looked up when she heard his footsteps, to see him holding a tray of food. He crouched next to her and put the tray in front of her. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes, got it?" He stood up when she nodded and made his way towards the door. Mid-path, he looked down when he stepped on something, and almost slipped onto his ass. He lifted his foot and bent down to pick up whatever it was. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the piece of plastic, before he stuffed it in his pocket and left the room with a sigh.

When she heard the click of the door, Lucy looked at the tray before her. She was pretty hungry, and that weird omelet thing actually looked pretty good. She hummed when the flavor hit her tongue, and greedily devoured the rest of it. She abandoned her fork halfway through, and decided to use her hands. She didn't realize how hungry she was until she took that first bite. A sadness enveloped her when she finished. As silly as it might be, she felt sad that it was gone. Temporary happiness, that's all the omelet was, that's all anything is. She always wondered if there was a happiness that lasted in this world.

The click of the door snapped her out of her daze, had it been fifteen minutes already? She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as she heard his footsteps come closer. "You done yet?" He asked right before he entered. He looked down at her when she nodded, and he bent down to pick up the tray. "Good. Come with me then." She hesitated for a moment before she pushed herself up from the floor, her knees cracking as they straightened. She followed him as he laid the tray on her bed, and he turned to her. "I'll come pick it up later. Grab your notebook." She did as he asked and then followed him out of the room.

The hallways were quiet, only a few nurses walked past them here and there. She could only assume that everyone was in another class of some sort. She was glad, she didn't think she could handle having so many people look at her bare skin, to look at her ugly scars. Her suspicions were proven correct when they passed by the classroom, and she saw everyone in there. Her eyes locked onto Natsu's as she passed, and her cheeks heated up when he grinned and waved at her. She ducked her head and jogged to catch up to Laxus. After what felt like ages, they reach the door to Mira's office. Lucy clutched the notebook tight to her chest as Laxus knocked on the door. She felt so nervous, would Mira be mad that she hadn't written anything in the notebook she gave her? Would she look disgusted at all the scars on her arms and upper thighs?

Her heart practically stopped when she heard the door open. Laxus held it open and gestured for her to go inside. Her feet felt like lead as she put one in front of the other. "Good morning, Lucy!" She looked to see Mira smiling brightly at her, and she felt a little more at ease. The door closed behind her, and Mira gestured to the chair across from her. "Sit down, Lucy. I have a few things I need to discuss with you." She did what was asked, and put the notebook in her lap, her hands curled into tight fists on top of it.

"First, I just want to apologize to you." She looked up in shock at Mira's words. "I never told you that we were going to have your clothes readjusted." Lucy narrowed her eyes a bit. Readjusted? More like shredded. "The reason for this is so that you can come to terms with why you are here. So that the others can see them, and you will come to realize that they accept you. And hopefully by seeing that they accept you, then you can accept yourself as well." Mira smiled sweetly at her shocked face. She made it sound so simple, it was almost revolting. She already accepted herself, didn't she?

"I'm going to ask something of you, Lucy." Mira's eyes turned serious, but she kept the sweet smile on her face, the combination made her nervous. "I need you to let me take pictures of your scars." Lucy's mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened in shock. Mira's expression didn't change as they stared at each other. Eventually, Lucy's gaze went to her arms, and she realized that she was shaking. "It's okay, Lucy. I'm the only one who will ever see the pictures. This is part of your recovery."

Lucy looked back into Mira's eyes. This woman honestly creeped her out a bit, but she couldn't deny the kindness she held in her eyes. She took a deep breath, and nodded slowly. Mira beamed at her. "Thank you, Lucy." Lucy nodded again, and Mira got up to go over to her desk. "This will only take a moment." She grabbed a camera and made her way towards Lucy, who shied away from her a bit as she approached. Mira knelt in front of the shaking girl, and put her hand on top her her's. "Don't worry, Lucy. I'm not here to judge you. It will be over quickly, okay?" Lucy's bottom lip quivered a bit as she nodded and let Mira turn her wrist upwards and towards her. She didn't lie, it was over quickly. Her cheeks had heated up when Mira took pictures of her inner thighs, and she breathed a sigh of relief when it was over. "Okay, now lift up your shirt please." Huh? She whipped her head to gape at the woman like a fish. "Just your stomach." The woman smiled, and Lucy shakily lifted up her shirt. "Oh my." She sighed and quickly snapped a picture of the lightly bloody mark on her stomach. "All done! You can relax now." Lucy quickly put her shirt down and hugged her arms to her chest.

Once Mira put away the camera, she sat back down on the armchair across from Lucy. "Have you written in your notebook at all?" Lucy shook her head with her hair covering her eyes. Mira frowned and studied the girl. "Have you tried?" Lucy hesitated a bit before she nodded. "Well then, as long as you try, you have nothing to be ashamed of."

They sat in silence for a little while, before Mira spoke again. "I got a call from your father today." Lucy shoulders stiffened. "He's quite the impatient one, isn't he?" Lucy's head lowered a tad as she nodded. Mira studied her for a bit longer, before she smiled again. "Do you feel up to any group activities?" Lucy looked up and slowly shook her head. "I understand. I'm going to give you a few days to yourself if that's what you want. I'll give you three days, but then your going to have to participate. Does that sound fair?" Lucy's eyes lowered to her scars again, and she slowly nodded. "Good. Then just keep trying to write in the notebook. I'll have Laxus bring you your meals. I'll see you then. Have a good day, Lucy."

She tried her best to give Mira a small smile, but it didn't really work, so she just nodded and stood up. Her head was swirling with everything she had said. The small implications here and there were like knives in her heart. She didn't know how the woman was so perceptive, but it was honestly terrifying. She numbly followed Laxus back to her room. Her gaze automatically shifted to the room where all the kids were, and her heartbeat quickening when she saw them all. How the hell was she supposed to face them with her skin on display? Mira wants her to expose all of her secrets, all of her insecurities like it's no big deal? What will they all think? What will they say? What will Natsu say? Will he be disgusted and not talk to her anymore? Not that it really mattered anyway she supposed. She's always been alone, so being here really shouldn't be any different. Either way, rejection is rejection, and it hurts.

The next few days went far too quickly for her. Laxus brought her meals, and she stayed curled up in her room. The day she would have to participate was almost there, and she was dreading every second that ticked by. Curling into a ball on her hard bed, she tried as hard as she could to connected her entire body with every appendage. She didn't want to be on display, and she was terrified. She didn't react well under pressure, and she had a gut feeling that tomorrow wouldn't go well. She hoped it did, but nothing ever went well. Why did the time have to pass so quickly? She stared at the scars on her arms, and a lone tear escaped her eye, falling on the bed. Her heart felt anchored in her chest, like it was the heaviest thing in the world. She couldn't stand the sight of them, so why would they accept her? Why should she even care? She wasn't meant to have friends, she wasn't meant to be accepted. That wouldn't change tomorrow, nothing would ever change, so she didn't understand why she was so scared. She was just so overwhelmed and confused. With a sigh, she pulled the covers over her head, and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

 **Wow, yeah okay, I really gotta apologize for not updating this recently. I know how I want this story to go, it's just honestly a hard one for me to write. It will get dark I am warning you about that, and that's what I want. I've never written a serious story like this, so please be patient with me. Believe me, writing this one is not easy on my mind. I still love it though, and I will keep working on it, so don't lose faith in me! I promise updates will happen! Anyways, thanks for the reviews so far, you guys are the absolute best! Muah! I will lick my cat for you! ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Lucy breathed in deeply through her nose, and slowly out of her mouth for the hundredth time. She was clutching her notebook to her chest tightly as she stood right outside the doorway to the lunchroom, right out of sight. She almost had a heart attack earlier when Laxus knocked on her door, saying she had to go get her lunch. They had been patient with her, and allowed her to skip the morning activities. Now though, she was beyond scared to go in there, but she knew she had to, so she breathed in deeply through her nose again, and exhaled slowly through her mouth.

In the last few days, she had grown accustomed to seeing her scarred flesh in the open, but the only people who had seen her was herself, Laxus, and Mira. She desperately wished it could stay that way. She hoped that Natsu guy wasn't there today. She had a feeling he would be appalled by her. All of his friends would. A tear made its way to the corner of her eye, and she breathed once more before she moved her foot to go forward. A few more steps, and there she was, in the doorway, out in the open. She almost grinned at her accomplishment, before she saw all the people in the room. Her eyes nervously darted around, and she noticed Natsu right away, but thankfully he hadn't noticed her. She caught sight of Laxus, who was watching her, and she gave him a pleading look with her eyes as she stood there. He shook his head slightly, and motioned with his hand for her to keep going. She swallowed thickly, and started putting one foot in front of the other.

She managed to make it to the counter without being noticed, and she tensed when Kinana's eyes met her own. "Ah! Hello there!" She smiled. "It's nice to see you out and about. I'll grab your lunch for you." Lucy nodded and Kinana went through a door for a moment, before coming back with a tray of food. She noticed that it was pretty much the same as always, and she had a feeling she would get sick of it relatively soon. One thing that had been changed ever since her first day, was that she was given a spoon instead of a fork. "Here you go! Enjoy!"

Lucy nodded and took the tray, placing her notebook on the side of it. She turned around, and she nervously chewed on her bottom lip as she contemplated where to sit. Her eyes moved over to where Laxus was, and she almost walked that way, before he caught her eye and gave her a thumbs up. He was proud of her so far, and it made her chest swell a little. She spotted Natsu and his friends, and after a small internal debate, she decided she would sit with them. One more deep breath, and she started walking towards them.

She was almost there when Gray spotted her out of the corner of his eye. His head snapped up and his eyes brightened a little. "Hey!" He half shouted and raised a hand in greeting. Naturally, the rest of them turned their attention to where he was staring, and all of their faces perked up a little.

Natsu jumped out of his chair, and grinned as he ran over to her. "Hey! Pepper! Been wonderin when you were gonna show up again. We saved a seat for you!" He led her over to the empty spot at their table, and a small smile slipped onto her face. The fact they had been waiting for her, made her heart skip slightly. When she was seated between Natsu and Gray, she set her tray down, and immediately put her arms under the table. Maybe if she tried really hard, they wouldn't notice anything.

"Your clothing is very inappropriate." Erza muttered as she stared at her. Levy and Juvia both blushed as they also stared at her. After Lucy's session with Mira the other day, that man with the scissors came back, and he cropped all of her shirts, so now she had no choice but to expose her slightly scarred stomach as well.

"I'm not complainin'." Gajeel grinned, making Lucy blush and look down, before Juvia swatted him on the back of the head.

"So, where ya been?" Natsu asked as he leaned towards her a little.

"Natsu!" Levy scolded. "She doesn't talk, remember?"

"Oh yeah!" He then turned to Lucy, who swallowed thickly. "Is that why you're here?"

Lucy's mouth dropped open in shock that he would actually ask her that. She shook her head slightly and grabbed her notebook from her tray, hugging it tightly to her chest.

"Natsu, you idiot! Don't just ask people that!" Gray shouted before he turned to the cowering girl. "Sorry about him, he doesn't think before he talks."

"I do too!" Natsu shouted defiantly, before bashfully looking at the blonde girl. "I'm sorry, though. You don't have to answer."

Lucy slowly pulled her notebook from her chest, and shakily opened it. There was one word that she was able to put on the paper, it was shaky, but it was still a word. She looked up, and blushed when she saw all of their eyes on her. She took a deep breath and turned it around, showing them the 'hello' she had written. They all smiled and grinned at her, murmuring congratulations and hellos around the table. She looked at Natsu's infectious, cheery grin, and blushed, closing her notebook and putting it on her lap. A small smile started appearing on her lips, but it dropped when Natsu's eyes widened and his eyebrows creased in worry.

"Are you okay? You're hurt!" He shouted, making everyone look for what he was talking about.

Lucy's heart dropped when she heard collective gasps ring across the table, and she flinched back when she saw Natsu's hand outstretched towards her.

"What happened?" The worry in his eyes made tears start to form in her own.

"Oh my god." Levy muttered as she put her hand on Natsu's arm. "Leave her alone, Natsu."

Lucy looked around at everyone, and tears fell down her face as she saw that everyone's faces paled slightly. This was what she was afraid of, they were appalled by her. Her shoulders shook, and she caught sight of Natsu's confused and worried expression, before a choked sob spilled out of her mouth. She let the scrape of the chair ring throughout the lunchroom as she suddenly stood up, and ran. She caught sight of Laxus and Mira getting up from their chairs before she ran out of the room.

Laxus shared a look with Mira, and he walked towards the group, while Mira went after the girl. He stomped up to their table, noticing their slightly pale faces, and immediately rounded on Natsu. "What the hell did you say to her?"

Natsu looked up with shock and understanding in his eyes. "I..I asked if she was okay cuz she was hurt...I didn't think…" he trailed off as his eyes flashed with guilt and he hung his head.

"Do you understand why she was hurt, Natsu?" Laxus asked as he crossed his arms.

"I...I..yeah."

Laxus dook a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Just be careful what you say to her. This was the first time we got her to come out of her room, and we're trying not to force her too much." He sighed at all of their guilty expressions. "Just...think before you speak. That's all I'm trying to say." He then walked away from the solemn table.

* * *

"Lucy?" Mira called as she knocked on the girl's door. When she got no response, she slowly opened the door and walked in. The room was empty, so she looked in the only other place, and there she was, curled up on the bathroom floor, hugging her knees. Mira smiled sadly down at the girl. This girl had the most fragile mind of anyone in the facility, and every staff member felt the pressure from her father to "fix her", in his words. The man just didn't seem to understand that things like this take time, and even then, there may not be a way to "fix" the problem. Mira sighed as she sat cross-legged in front of the crying girl. She only hoped that they weren't pushing her too hard.

"Lucy?" Mira said softly as she put a hand on the girl's arm. Lucy flinched slightly at her touch, but looked up at her all the same. Mira gave her a smile. "I don't know what Natsu and his friends said to you, but I know them all very well, and I know that they are really good kids. I find it very hard to believe that they passed judgement on you. They are very bad at hiding their emotions, so they were probably just shocked and worried. They aren't mean people, and I know that they would never do that to you. They seem to really like you." she ended with a giggle.

Lucy just shook her head and buried her face in her knees. Mira sighed. "Lucy, look at me." The firmness in her tone caused the girl to raise her head. "I don't usually do this, but I want to show you something." When she had the girl's full attention, she rolled up the sleeve of her shirt, and showed the girl her arm. They were faint, and years old, but they were there. Small scars going up the inside of her arm.

Lucy gasped and then looked down at her own arm, they were much more prominent, much more visible, some were even still scabbed over. The one on her wrist, the one that landed her here, still had a bandage wrapped around it. Mira's were small and unnoticeable, even beautiful in Lucy's eyes. Her own were ugly, there were far more of them, and it just made her skin look wrinkled.

Mira lightly grabbed the back of Lucy's arm, and lined her own up next to her's. "It might seem a lot different now, but my arm used to look alot like yours." Lucy gave her a disbelieving look, but she continued anyway. "It might seem like it's always going to be this way, like there's no hope, but Lucy, sweety, it gets so much better. Your cuts will heal, and your scars will fade, you just have to hold onto that hope inside of you. Hell, they even make creams at the grocery store that reduce scars. What I'm trying to say is, there's nothing to be ashamed of." She let go of Lucy's arm, and rolled her sleeve down. "What you're going through is hard, and trust me, I understand. This is a place where everyone understands hard times, internal struggles, and there will always be someone you can reach out to. We're not here to judge you Lucy, we're here to help you through this. Over time, you'll see that these scars transform into trophies of triumph. That you made it through and survived a difficult situation. You just have to hold onto that hope inside of you, and trust the help that offers itself to you. Everyone here knows the battle, and if you just reach out, you'll see that you have allies everywhere."

Lucy's tears had stopped flowing, and she was looking at the woman with emotions that she herself wouldn't be able to place. Mira smiled sweetly and stood up. "I'll let you spend the rest of the day in here, if that's what you need. Tomorrow, I do want you to try. I expect you to be out in the morning, and I want you to do all of the activities, okay?" She planted a kiss on the girl's head. "Have a good night, Lucy, and I'm proud of you for writing in your notebook. Keep it up!" She cheered before she left the room.

* * *

Lucy laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling. It was night now, and she was just mulling everything Mira had said earlier in her mind. Trust, hope, allies, triumph? It was all so foreign to her, it was almost hard to comprehend. She blushed when she remembered the kiss Mira had placed on her head. She could faintly remember when someone had done something similar, but she shook the thought from her mind. She didn't want to remember her, but Mira reminded her so much of her mother.

She saw something move in the corner of her eye, and she sat up, watching as a white piece of paper slid underneath her door. Curious, she got up and went over to it. She could hear footsteps walking away from the door, and she bent down to pick up the paper. Her mouth dropped open in shock when she saw who it was from, and she was almost to scared to read it, but she read it anyways.

 _Dear Pepper,_

 _You have no idea how excited everyone was to see you today. We're all really sorry for making you uncomfortable, and for making you cry. We never wanted to make you cry. We were honestly just shocked, we didn't know. We hope you'll forgive us. We really wanna see you again, and we'll be saving a seat for ya. I'll show you how to make a dragon out of clay if you want, it'll be lots of fun! We're sorry, again, and we hope you'll still be our friend._

 _-Natsu, Gray, Erza, Juvia, Levy, and Gajeel._

Lucy stared at the words in shock. They wanted to be her friend? Friend? She'd never had a friend before. The thought made a tear fall from her eye, and a smile tugged on her lips. They even apologized, she really wasn't expecting that. Dazed, she clutched the paper to her chest and laid back down on her bed. Maybe she could face them again. Mira was right, they did seem like nice people. She might still be a little scared of them, but looking at the letter they gave her, she would be lying if she said she didn't want a friend.

* * *

 **Thank you guys so much for being patient with the updates :) you guys are the best, and my cat has been licked for you. She kept trying to get my attention while I was writing this, but I think it turned out fine despite her. Anyways, I love you guys! Muah!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Lucy's heart was beating abnormally fast as she stood in the middle of the cafeteria, tray in hand. Natsu had seen her a moment before, but instead of running up to her like she expected him to, he just smiled and waved before returning to his food. She really didn't know how to feel about that. They had apologized, yeah, but she couldn't tell if him not approaching her meant that he didn't want her to sit with them or not. Did he not want her to sit with them now that he knew about her? She exhaled shakily as tears started to form in her eyes. Her eyes drifted to Laxus, who had become the only person she'd come to trust and rely on. It confused her a little, but she wanted to make him proud. Right then, she couldn't tell what he was thinking. His face was blank as he ate his food, his eyes focused on her. She didn't know what she was asking for, but her eyes pleaded with him as best they could. He seemed to have understood, because his chewing stopped and he raised his hand to giver a thumbs up. Tears slipped out of her eyes as she nodded, her gaze returning to the table that had one empty seat. She was unsure how to feel. Her heart felt like it was going to jump right out of her chest. She didn't care to wipe away the stray tears that had fallen, she was already completely exposed to everyone, so what would a few tears matter?

After a deep, steadying breath, she put one foot in front of the other, walking towards the one empty chair between Natsu and Gray. She stopped right behind the empty chair, and flinched when they all looked up at her in surprise. Her heart felt like it stopped. She wanted to ask if she could sit there, but she couldn't, so she just stood there, nervously gripping onto the tray.

"Hey, Pepper!" Natsu grinned at her, and she released the breath she was holding.

"Why don't you sit down?" Gray asked as he patted the empty seat. She obliged, and set her tray on the table, grabbing her notebook and holding it in her lap.

"Did you get our note last night?" Natsu asked as he leaned towards her with his arms crossed on the table. She nodded and gave them a small smile, trying to lift her lips up higher to convey that she forgave them, but she was so nervous that all she could manage was a small smile. It seemed to do its job though, because all at once they let out a collective sigh of relief. Natsu grinned at her, "Great! I was really worried there for a while."

Gajeel snorted. "You were more than worried, pyro. You wouldn't stop whining about how you were never gonna see her again." Lucy's eyes widened as she stared at him, her heartbeat stuttering in her chest.

"Yeah, well. I wanted to see her again." Natsu muttered as he shrugged. Lucy couldn't stop staring at him, his words replaying in her head a few more times.

"I thought it was cute, Natsu." Levy smiled as she placed her hand on his arm, making him grumble about how he wasn't cute. Lucy had to disagree, he was kinda cute.

The boys started bickering, while the girls would chime in and try to stop it every now and then. Lucy ate her breakfast, slightly amused by them, but it quickly faded as she realized that she wanted to join them. She wanted to comment on certain things being said, and she wanted to joke and laugh with them. It shocked her, and she didn't know how to handle it, but it made her upset. She felt so out of place, like she shouldn't even be sitting there. They didn't make any mention of the day before, which she was grateful for, but the longer she sat there, the more she wanted someone to acknowledge her. That in itself shocked her. Never before had she wanted someone's attention, she always dreaded having eyes on her. She preferred to stay hidden and in the shadows, oblivious to cruel and judgmental eyes. Maybe that was it. None of them seemed bothered by her problem. They made it feel like nothing had even happened yesterday. They seemed like such kind people, and the letter they had given her made her want to try and be friends. Maybe that's why she wanted them to acknowledge her, she wanted to be friends.

"Are you gonna come with us to class today, Pepper?" Natsu's voice pulled her from her thoughts, and she blinked to see him looking at her with hopeful eyes.

She swallowed nervously. She had forgotten about that. She really didn't want to go to whatever it was, but Mira had made her promise to go. She never broke promises. Ever. It still scared her though. With a shaky breath, she nodded.

Natsu's eyes lit up and he grinned. "Awesome! It's gonna be so much fun! They call it class, but it's not really class." She tilted her head in confusion, how could a class not be a class? A pink hue dusted across his cheeks, but before he could explain further, Erza decided to pipe in.

"There is no actual schoolwork, that's what Natsu means by it not being a real class."

"Yeah, but we do all kinds of things." Levy smile. "Sometimes we play music, we draw, we write, we sculpt, we debate, and every now and then they do actually go over the basic concepts in a GED test. Not everyone can handle that though, so they don't focus on that very much."

"I'll never forget when I completely owned you in the debate of cats vs. dogs, Popsicle." Natsu grinned. "That was a lot of fun."

Gray glared at it him and crossed his arms over his chest. "The only reason anyone voted for your speech, was because you were embarrassing yourself. They were pity votes, ash-face."

"You're just mad that I beat you! Everyone agreed that I had the better speech." Natsu glared back at him.

"Juvia thought Gray had a wonderful speech!" Juvia declared as she dunked her fingers in her cup of water, emphasizing her point.

"Honestly, it wouldn't have mattered who had a better speech." Levy sighed. "It was a completely biased debate. Anyone who liked cats would have voted for Natsu no matter what, and vice versa."

"Either way, I still won!" Natsu grumbled.

"Like Levy said, it was an unfair debate. You won by default. If it had been a debate involving actual intellect, I would have wiped the floor with you."

And they started bickering again. Lucy tried to follow along, but it was starting to make her head a little dizzy. She started to zone out, her gaze falling to the notebook in her lap. Her fingers wrapped around the pen in her hand, and she slowly opened her notebook to a new page. Her hand shook as the pen made contact with the paper, her lines shaky as she tried to form the letters. She hated that she couldn't just write it out, but she was trying. She was trying so hard. She let out a breath as she finished both words, a small smile pulling up at her lips at her accomplishment. It was shaky, but legible, and she felt oddly proud of herself. She looked up to see them all still bickering at each other, and she frowned. She wanted to show them, but she didn't want to interrupt them. Then again, it didn't seem like they were ever going to stop. So, she tentatively reached her hand out and gently tugged on Natsu's sleeve.

His eyes softened as he instantly turned his attention to her, noticing the open notebook she was holding to her chest. "What's up, Pepper?"

She flinched as all of their eyes snapped to her, and she took a deep breath before she slowly held her notebook out to him.

His eyes lit up as he accepted it from her hands, eager to read anything she had written. However, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion as he read the shaky words "Thank you". He looked back at her, and held her notebook back towards her. "What are you thanking me for? I didn't do anything."

Her head bowed slightly as she took her notebook back, flipping the page and pressing the pen to the paper. She froze then, she wasn't sure exactly why she had thanked him, it had just felt right. Maybe it was for him approaching her with such kindness, maybe it was the way he hadn't rejected her, or maybe it was for them having saved a seat for her, hoping that she'd come back. Maybe it was them asking to be her friend. She wasn't sure of the exact reason, and she didn't know how to explain it. Her pen stayed in place on the paper, her hands shaking slightly on that one spot. What could she say? What would explain how she was feeling?

"Hey." His soft voice penetrated her thoughts, and she looked up to see him smiling gently at her. "I don't know what you're thanking me for, but you're welcome either way!" He grinned a wide, infectious grin that sent heat right to her cheeks. Her eyes darted to everyone else, and saw soft smiles on all of their faces, well Gajeel was smirking. She looked back into Natsu's eyes, and she couldn't help the genuine smile that her lips morphed into. It was a smile that wasn't forced, and it felt so good, so freeing, that it made tears start to well up in her eyes.

"Alright, everyone!" Lucy looked over to see Mira standing in the middle of the room. "Breakfast is over, it's time to go to class!" Lucy's heart jumped slightly as everyone in the room immediately stood up.

"Finally!" Gajeel sighed as he got up with the rest of the table. "I'm gonna finished my sculpture today."

"I'm gonna finish my sketch, and I'll bet anything it looks ten times better than your sculpture, metal face." Gray said casually as the group started heading out with the rest of them.

"You wanna bet on that, Fullbuster?!"

"Hell yeah I do!"

Lucy stood, but her feet remained frozen as everyone else started ushering to the doors. There weren't a whole lot of people, but it was still a nice sized group. It made her nervous, being around that many people at once, being close to them, she didn't like it. Crowds made her feel anxious. She saw someone walking the opposite direction the crowd was going, belatedly realizing it was Natsu backtracking towards her.

"Aren't you coming?" He asked as he stopped in front of her. She didn't respond, she just stared at the crowd of people past his shoulder. She was shocked when he grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together. "C'mon, Pepper. You don't wanna miss out." He lightly tugged on her hand as he walked forward, and her own feet obliged. A blush spread across her cheeks as they walked, he never let go of her hand, giving it a small squeeze when she hesitated in front of the classroom. He led her over to a table where most of his friends were sitting, finally letting go of her hand when they sat down. She realized she missed the warmth of his hand, causing a small frown to tug on her lips. She noticed a slim man with large glasses sitting up at the front of the class. He had a paint canvass in front of him and a paintbrush in his hand. The man stood up once everyone was seated.

"Hello, class." The man said, earning a few murmured greetings around the room. "We have a new student today, so hello to you miss. My name is Reedus, and I am the art teacher here. This is a place where artistic ability and personal creativity is encouraged, and I look forward to all the creations you kids make. I know you all have existing projects going on, so go ahead and get back to those. Natsu, if you could, please show our new student what she can work with."

"Aye, sir!" Natsu cheered, earning a chorus of giggles around the room. Everyone then got up to go to the front of the class, where a few tables had various objects sitting there. Lucy assumed they were what everyone had been working on. "C'mon, Pepper!" Natsu grinned as he grabbed her hand, hauling her up from her seat. Her frown disappeared as she felt the warmth of his hand again, and she eagerly followed him to the back of the room. "Grab one of those plates." She did as instructed, and watched curiously as he grabbed a large bag and a set of small tools. He led her back to the table, and she set the plate down. He grabbed what she noticed was clay out of the bag, and put it on the plate. It was in the shape of a large ball. "You ready?" She tilted her head at him, and he grinned as he gave her one of the tools. "I told you I was gonna show you how to make a dragon, didn't I?" Her lips pulled into another natural smile. He was going to keep his promise to her. It made her heart flutter. She nodded enthusiastically, not noticing the pink that dusted his cheeks. She watched intently as his hands went to work on the clay, listening closely as he explained what to do. As she started to mold the clay with him, she started to understand how he was eager to show her how to do this. It was a lot of fun.

Once she got the hang of it, Natsu started telling her stories of other things he had made. She felt so light as her hands worked at creating something, her mind picturing the events that Natsu described. She felt almost normal in that moment, and she couldn't keep the smile off her face as their hands worked together.

* * *

 **Well, you all have the right to smack me upside the head for taking so long to update. I have absolutely no excuse, no good ones anyways. I can't stress enough how awesome you guys are, despite my horrible updating on this story. I will try my absolute hardest to not do it again! I just got my first laptop! cheer! And holy hell is it easier to write on than a phone. It made writing this a million times easier for me! ME and my cat send out all of our love. I pictured Gray as a dog person, dont know why, but i did. Are you guys a dog or cat person? Or are you like an I dont care cuz I love and have both kind of person, like me? That was an actual debate i had to do in school my freshman year. I remember it so well, because we all had to vote on who won the debate, and Im sitting there like, this is so stupid cuz the subject is far too opinion based. Anyways, I love you guys! Muah!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Has anything exciting happened to anyone this week that they want to share?" Mira asked as she looked at each of the teens in the circle. "Or perhaps something you're looking forward to?"

Lucy clutched her notebook closer to herself. She had been lucky that she was allowed to retire to her room after lunch the day before. But today, Mira had made her come to this group therapy session. She was sitting in between Natsu and Gray, Levy sat beside Gray, beside Levy sat a girl with curly, black hair named Sam, and beside Natsu sat a boy with brown, spiky hair name Rictor. Mira was sitting between Sam and Rictor, and was looking at them all expectantly.

"Pepper and I have almost finished our clay dragon!" Natsu suddenly spoke up with a grin.

Mira smiled and let out a small giggle. "That certainly is exciting." She then looked at Lucy, who shrunk slightly when their eyes made contact. "Have you enjoyed making the dragon with Natsu?"

Lucy managed a small nod as she averted her eyes to the floor. She didn't understand why no one corrected Natsu about her name. She supposed it didn't matter that much anyways.

"Does anyone else have anything?" Mira asked again, and the girl named Sam rose her hand. "Go ahead."

"Um. My mom came to visit me yesterday." Lucy's eyes snapped to the girl at that. Parents were allowed to come here? Her eyes then snapped to Mira. She didn't tell her about that.

Mira glanced at her from the corner of her eye, noticing her expression, before looking back at Sam. "And how did that go?"

Sam smiled. "She said she was proud of me, and rooting for me."

"That's wonderful Sam." Mira smiled and leaned forwards slightly. "Alright, if no one else wants to share, then I want to do one last thing before you all go to back to class. One at a time, I want everyone to say either their favorite hobby or past time. Something that you're passionate about. We'll start with you, Sam."

"I love to cook." She smiled brilliantly, and it almost made Lucy's lip want to lift upwards, almost.

"Um, I love to read." Levy timidly chimed in.

"I like working with metal." Gajeel grunted.

Lucy dug her nails into her notebook when everyone's eyes settled on her. Even if she could say it, she didn't have any passions. The only thing she enjoyed was euphoric relief of her blood being released. She didn't have hobbies; she didn't have passions. Her lower lip trembled and she clenched her eyes shut just as she felt the familiar burning in the backs of them.

"I love fire!"

Her eyes snapped open to see Natsu grinning at her. She blinked a few times, before a small smile tugged at her lips. A weird feeling pulsed in her chest that she couldn't identify. He didn't have to do that. He didn't have to take the attention off of her and try to calm her down, but he did. And it was right then that she realized, she considered Natsu a friend. She couldn't take her eyes off him as the other boy gave an answer that she didn't listen to. She was caught off guard by what she was feeling. And she had a feeling that he had no idea how much what he just did meant to her.

She felt eyes on her and she pulled her eyes away from Natsu to see Mira watching her intently. Mira took a deep breath and gave Lucy a small smile as she leaned forwards. "Do you have any passions?" Lucy's eyes dropped to the floor and she quickly shook her head. "Well, you've managed to get a few words down on your notebook now. I want you to try to write one more, and tell us something that you enjoy." Lucy shook her head again and tightened the grip on her notebook. "Can you at least try for me?"

Lucy felt attacked and she felt vulnerable. Why would Mira make her do something that she knew was hard for her in front of so many people? She felt everyone's eyes on her again, and she could feel her breathing start to escalate. She didn't know what to do. She didn't want to disappoint Mira after she had been so nice and understanding. That was the last thing she wanted to do, but she could barely form words on her own, how was she supposed to do it with everyone watching her every move. She tried to regulate her breathing as she slowly released the death grip she had on her notebook. Her hands shook as she opened it, flipping to a new page. She stared at the blank page, and she tried to stop it, but her lower lip started trembling again. She held her pen tighter in her right hand to try and lessen the obvious tremble, but it did no good. As she touched the ball of the pen to the paper, her hands wouldn't stop shaking no matter how hard she tried to will them to stop. Her breathing was becoming more labored, and unshed tears built up, distorting her vision.

"Pepper?"

She looked up to see everyone's concerned and worried looks. A choked noise bubbled up from her throat. She couldn't handle this. She couldn't bear this humiliation. She suddenly jumped up from her chair, startling everyone, and she dropped her notebook to the ground as she ran from the room. She could barely see where she was going, and she stumbled around quite a bit, but she eventually made it back to the safety of her room. As soon as the door was shut, she dropped down at the foot of her bed and desperately tried to loosen the screw that she had noticed the other day. She was desperate, there was only one thing that she could rely on at that moment. The only thing she knew would make her feel better. She felt caged, humiliated, and disappointed in herself. She felt like a failure. She disappointed Mira. She was worthless. She couldn't even write one word in a fucking notebook!

Her breath caught in her throat when the screw came free, and a relieved sob escaped her when she noticed the pointy end. She was practically panting as she touched the metal to the inside of her forearm. The location that she was doing this in was the furthest thing from her mind right then, she just needed to be able to breathe again. A deep sigh left her when she broke the skin, and her eyes fluttered shut as her racing heart began to calm. Her breathing finally regulated as she felt liquid trail down the length of her arm. The euphoric feeling of release washed over her, easing all of her worries. This was what she needed, to be able to breath and be at ease.

A knock at the door made Lucy gasp, and she quickly tried to put the screw back in its place. She dropped it a few times, but was able to make it look like it was in by the time the door opened. She leaned against the foot of the bed, and cradled her arm to her chest, her mind was still in a daze as she saw Mira walk into the room.

"Lucy?" Mira softly called out as she entered the room. She shut the door behind her when she saw Lucy sitting on the floor. She smiled sadly at the girl, and she crouched in front of her. "There you are. You've got everyone worried about you, you know." Mira frowned when she noticed that Lucy's eyes were slightly glazed over. She took in the way she was cradling her arm to her chest, and she had no doubt what had happened. Where she got the tools to use though, she had no clue. "Lucy, will you come with me to my office?" She gently took Lucy's hand when she nodded, and pulled her up to her feet.

* * *

"I have something for you, and I really want you to use it." Mira extended a thick elastic band towards Lucy. After she had photographed the new cut on Lucy's arm, she bandaged it and gave Lucy her notebook back. She didn't ask her why she did it, or what made her feel why she needed it, which Lucy was beyond grateful for, not that she would be able to tell her anyways.

Lucy took the elastic band in confusion. "Put it on your wrist, above the bandage from before you got here. When you start to get that feeling that you need to cut, try snapping the elastic against your skin instead." Lucy's eyes lit up with interest as she slipped it over her wrist. "This is actually a method that helped me on my own road to recovery. I think this will help you a lot, Lucy. I believe in you."

The girl could only look up in surprise. The soft smile on Mira's face made her own lips turn up. Mira made her feel emotions that she hadn't felt since her mother was alive. The fact that she was sharing something that helped her, as well as telling her that she believes in her, made her want to cry. She didn't, but she wanted to. It was the first time in a long time that she felt truly cared for.

* * *

Lucy stared at her door as a knock came from it, wondering who it could be this time. She had been allowed to stay in her room for the rest of the day. Laxus had come and brought her dinner, and then came back to take her tray. So, she didn't know who else could be knocking on her door. Slowly, she stood up from her bed and made her way over to the door. She blinked in surprise when she opened it to see Natsu grinning at her, with his hands behind his back.

"Hey, Pepper!" She couldn't help but smile, his grin was unbelievably infectious.

"I have something for ya!" She gasped when he brought his hands forward to reveal a finished clay dragon, painted red. It had a glossy finish to it, and she could have sworn it looked alive. "Go on! It's yours!"

She blushed, and tentatively reached out for it. He practically pushed it into her hands, and she held it close to her chest as she grinned brightly at him, tears wanting to pool in her eyes.

"So, uh." He scratched the back of his head. "Can I come in?"

She swallowed nervously before she nodded. She quickly walked over to her nightstand, and gently set the dragon on it. She stared at it for a few minutes, gently stroking her fingers over it, before she turned around. Natsu sat on her bed, crossing his legs as he looked at her. She felt nervous, she didn't really know what to do, so she sat next to him on the bed and folded her hands on her lap.

"Sorry for just, uh, barging in, but I just…" He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "You've been driving me crazy lately." She tilted her head in confusion, she didn't remember doing anything bad. "I just…I dunno, I can't stop thinking about you, and I just wanna be around you. Like, I wanna get to know you. I wanna know your real name, and what you think about, or just, something." He groaned in frustration. "I just wanna know you, ya know?"

A giggle slipped out of her lips before she could stop it, he just looked so confused with himself.

He eyes went wide when he heard her giggle, and a pink hue dusted across his cheeks.

Lucy couldn't help but feel a little bad that he didn't know her name. He gave her a dragon, and he always seemed to cheer her up. He made her want to feel happy, and when she was with him, she felt normal. She wanted to return the favor somehow, so she grabbed her notebook, and wrote her name in it. She stared in shock at her name on the paper. She was shocked that she hadn't even hesitated in writing it, there were no squiggly lines, it was clean. Did she really feel that comfortable around him? She looked up to see his eyes lit in excitement, and she smiled as she turned her notebook towards him.

"Lucy?" He looked back and forth between her and the name, before he grinned a big grin. "It's nice to finally meet you, Lucy!" She couldn't help the giggle that erupted again. He looked so happy in that moment, and it was ridiculous to her that it came from just her name.

She understood what Natsu was trying to say before. She couldn't explain it, but she wanted to get to know him, she wanted to know everything about him. She felt safe and secure around him. There was no embarrassment, no judgement, no feeling insecure. Being around him was just so easy, and it made her wonder if this was what it meant to have a true friend.

* * *

 **Oooo, thank you so much for being patient. I dont know why, but this chapter was soo hard to write. Not mentally, but just writing it. I have no clue why, and it frustrated me to no end. But, eventually I got it out. So, thank you for the encouragement, it really helped me to not thrown in the towel, and I feel better now that it's out. Sigh, thank you! I love you! Muah!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

" **Why is your hair pink?** "

Natsu looked at the words in shock. He shifted on the blonde's bed so he could face her fully and give her a glare. "My hair is not pink! It's salmon thank you very much!"

She giggled as he huffed and crossed his arms. The blush forming on his pouting face made her heart speed up.

It had been two weeks since he gave her the clay dragon that was currently sitting on her nightstand. It still surprised her that she was able to write so easily to him. She still couldn't bring herself to do it in front of other people though, and it was frustrating. She could tell that she wasn't the only one getting frustrated though, which made it that much more daunting to her. Mira had been particularly persistent the last few days, even Laxus had tried to push her a few times. Their eyes always looked torn, almost guilty, and she couldn't figure it out.

Every time, every time she thought she was going to break from the pressure, Natsu would be there. Just to cheer her up, or make her laugh, it was like he knew that she was on the verge of breaking down, and he would come to her room, and just hang out with her. He was the only fresh air she was able to breath being here.

" **Salmon.** " She underlined the word three times, and a laugh burst from his lips. She joined in, it was just too contagious.

A knock on the door cut off their laughter, and barely two seconds after, Laxus walked into the room. "Figured I'd find you here, Natsu." He sighed.

"Were you looking for me?" Natsu tilted his head.

He nodded. "Your dad is here."

Natsu's eyes widened, as did Lucy's, and a large grinned split onto his face. "Pops is here?! Alright!" He jumped up and was about to run out the door, before he stopped. "Can Luce come meet him?"

Her whole body froze, and she curled up onto the mattress, shaking her head.

"I don't think that'd be a good idea, Natsu." Laxus muttered as he watched the girl's reaction. He sighed and patted Natsu on the shoulder. "Go on, don't leave your old man waiting."

Natsu frowned as he stared at Lucy. "Yeah…okay. I'll be back, Luce!"

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief when they both left. Her hands were shaking at just the idea of meeting someone as important as Natsu's father. She sat there for a little while, and took many deep breaths to calm herself down. After a while, she managed to calm herself down, but she was feeling abnormally anxious. Her leg bobbed up and down, and she rubbed her arm. After a minute, she groaned. Snatching her notebook, she hopped up from her bed and left the room she dubbed her safe haven.

She peeked out into the hallway, cringing at the amount of people roaming the halls. It was a Saturday, which was the "casual day" as they called it. Really, it was just a do whatever the fuck you want day. She let out a whine as she stepped out and closed the door behind her. Clutching her notebook to her chest, she walked down the still annoyingly white walls of the hospital. A few teens she hadn't bothered to try and meet would stare at her as she walked, and she had half a mind to just run back into her room.

Her steps and mind came to a crashing halt when she turned the corner and saw Natsu standing in a closed off room, hugging an older man with deep, red hair. She sucked in a breath and pressed her back into the wall. Curious, she peeked around the corner, and the sight made her chest ache. Raising her fist to her chest, she watched as they both smiled at each other, the older man laughing as Natsu pantomimed something. Tears sprung in the backs of her eyes, and she sharply turned her head away, clamping her eyes shut to keep the dreadful tears from falling. Deep breaths. In and out.

She reopened her eyes and flinched when a few teens looked at her weirdly. She blushed and swiftly walked off. She hadn't explored much, since she basically holes herself up in her room, so she didn't exactly know where she was going.

She ended up at a room that had the word Library written in pretty calligraphy. She didn't know this place had one of those. Opening the door, she tiptoed inside, trying to be quite as one does in a library. The room was small, not very many books held on the shelves, but it was almost cozy. Three small couches lined the corners, and a mop of blue hair sticking up from one of them. She made her way over to the blue hair, and she tentatively poked the girl's shoulder.

Levy gasped, jumping in surprise and dropping the book she was just emerged in. "Oh, Jesus, Lucy! You scared me." Lucy blushed and looked down at the floor in her attempt at an apology. "What are you doing here?"

She shrugged and sat down on the couch next to Levy, pulling her legs up and wrapping her arms around her knees.

Levy smiled at her and picked up the book she dropped. "Wanted to try to relax, huh?" When Lucy nodded, she giggled. "I always come here when I want to just clear my mind. I can get lost in these books, it makes things…easier."

Lucy peered curiously at the book in Levy's hands. She didn't realize that she was leaning in close towards it, until Levy's giggle made her look up to see her face right next to hers. She blushed and sat back, resting her head on her knees, still staring at the book.

"Here." Levy closed the book and held it out for the blonde. "You should read this, it's really good. I've already read it at least five times." Lucy blinked at the girl, and blushed as she slowly accepted the book. She fingered the pretty cover gently.

"You'll have to read it in here. We're not allowed to take them out of this room." Levy sighed. "Unfortunately."

Lucy couldn't help but giggle. She had a feeling that there wouldn't be any books in here at all if this girl was allowed to take them.

They settled into a comfortable silence. Them both reading while curled up on the couch. It was comforting, normal, and Levy was right. It made her feel…better. It made things easier. She got so lost in the book, in the wonderful words on the paper, that she forgot everything around her. It was an escape, a way to breathe again.

* * *

Lucy blinked out of her fictional fantasy when she heard Levy yawn, and she looked up to see her stretching. "Wow, I can't believe it's already been two hours!"

Lucy blinked in surprise. Had it really been that long? She turned her head when the door burst open and Gajeel stomped in.

"Oi! Shorty, get your ass out here, dinner's in ten."

"Alright, alright. I'm coming." Levy sighed, marking the page she was reading and standing up. "Thanks for reading with me, Lucy." She smiled.

Before she could leave, Lucy reached out and tugged on her sleeve. She fumbled with the books in her hand, and wrote quickly in her notebook. " **Thank you too**."

Levy smiled and held out her hand for the girl, helping her stand up. "Of course! It was really relaxing."

Gajeel grunted. "I still say you look like a Daisy."

Lucy blushed and looked at the floor, but blinked when Levy smacked his arm. "Honestly, Gajeel." He just chuckled at her and they both went out the door.

Lucy hesitated for a moment, before she tentatively followed behind them. She watched them bicker in front of her for a while, but when Gajeel suddenly glared at her, she practically jumped out of her skin.

"Gihi, she's like a scared little rabbit." He smirked and Levy smacked his arm.

"What's wrong with you? Do you not understand anything? Did the warning Laxus give you go straight through your head?"

It was a whisper, but Lucy still heard it, and to be honest she didn't really know how to feel about it. She ignored their hushed whispers, and continued following behind them to the cafeteria. She stuck rather closely to Gajeel's back. The man was big and scary; therefore, she felt safe behind him. When they entered the cafeteria, she stopped in the doorway while Gajeel and Levy went on ahead to get their food. She looked around, noticing Natsu, Erza, Juvia, and Gray chatting happily. She had a feeling that Natsu was talking about his dad, and she really didn't want to listen to it. She quickly searched for spiky, blonde hair, and when she found him, she quickly walked up to him.

He stopped mid-bite and looked up to the brown, pleading eyes that he had a hard time saying no to: not that he'd admit that. "What's up, squirt?"

Her lips couldn't help but twitch up slightly. He always called her random weird nicknames. She took a deep breath, and opened her notebook. He watched in shock as she started writing in it. She'd never written anything for him before. " **Can I eat in my room? Please?** "

He let out a breath. His eyes quickly scanned the room, before they landed on Mira across from him. She was looking at Lucy with pride in her eyes. He turned back to her. "Yeah, go ahead pipsqueak." She smiled at him, but he caught her arm before she could run off, and she tilted her head at him. He let his lips quirk up into a smirk. "I'm proud of you, kiddo."

He watched, slightly confused as her eyes welled up with tears. He let her arm go, and she quickly walked towards the lunch line. He watched her for a minute, before he turned to see Mira smiling at him. "Progress?"

She gave a light chuckle. "It's the first _real_ thing she's written to anyone but Natsu. So, yes I would say progress in that aspect."

He sighed as her smile dropped and took another bite of his burrito. "But not in the other."

She shook her head sadly and rested her head in her hand, her eyes watching the blonde girl quickly duck out of the cafeteria. "Good for her father I suppose. Her talking again is the only thing he cares about."

Laxus grunted and frowned. "Honestly, I doubt that's what he cares about."

Mira blinked at him. "You don't think he cares about her?"

"Think about it, Mira." He set down his food and leaned towards her. "That man runs a multi-billion-dollar company. His only heir, his daughter, refuses to speak. He's getting older, and he needs someone to inherit the company. He needs someone who can talk to people, talk to the public, and negotiate."

Mira shook her head. "But she's his daughter."

"Then why does he talk about her like she's holding up his plans?" Laxus grumbled, leaning back to cross his arms over his chest. "He's pushing us way too hard for something that he should know takes time. But, I don't give a damn how much he threatens us, that girl is going to go at her own damn pace. If that man cared about his daughter, then he would do the same. I don't trust the man, Mira."

Mira sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "I know. I've had the same feeling. You know she completely shuts down whenever I mention him?"

"That's…"

"Concerning?" He just grunted. She picked up her fork to resume eating. "I'm going to talk to your grandfather about this. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to deflect her father's questions."

Laxus let out a small chuckle. "If anyone should be talking to Mr. Heartfilia, it should be him." Mira just hummed in agreement. After eating in silence for a few minutes, he looked up to see the woman staring off to the side with a dreamy smile on her face. He slowly set his fork down. "The hell are you look at?"

She didn't take her eyes off what she was looking at as she answered him. "I think Natsu is helping her more than we are."

Laxus shifted to narrow his eyes at the pink-haired boy. "Well, he sure as hell spends a lot of time in her room at night."

Mira giggled and finally looked at him, smiling to herself at the way he was glaring at the boy. "They say that love can cure anything."

His eyes harshly snapped to hers. "Who the hell said anything about love?!" She just giggled at his angry face.

* * *

 **Wow, that was so annoying to update. This copy and past thing is so frustrating. I'm sorry if there are errors.**

 **Anyways, I'm a sucker for protective Laxus, so I just had to :}**

 **Thanks so much for your support with this, you guys. I know this subject can hit really close to home for some of you, me included, so I'm glad that you can enjoy it. :} I love you guys! Muah!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

That night, Lucy sat on her bathroom floor, blood lightly trailing down her arm. She felt ashamed of what she'd just done, only because she was unable to hide anything from anyone anymore. That's why she didn't bother to clean up the few trails of blood running down her arm; it wouldn't matter anyway, everyone would already know what she'd done.

A muffled knock from the bedroom door didn't even startle her. She was dazed, content, and dare she say guilty. It was a strange feeling, feeling guilty but not caring that you feel guilty.

"Lucy?"

The voice of Natsu did managed to perk her up slightly. She still didn't want to move, and she knew the boy would come in there if she didn't answer soon. So, why couldn't she get herself to move? Oh, that's right, she felt way too good to move even a single muscle. Her entire body felt lighter than air, but her muscles felt as heavy as lead. How was that even possible?

"Lucy? I'm coming in!"

Shit, she really should get up…but what was the point? He would see the blood either way. No use getting caught trying to hide it. Would he even care? Would it make him not want to see her anymore?

She wasn't able to think it through any more, because Natsu's pink hair filled her line of sight. She blinked a couple of times when he just stood there unmoving, and when her vision cleared she saw his face. It looked like he was in pain, like he was about to cry.

"Natsu..?" She whispered worriedly. "Are you okay?"

What sounded like a choked whine came from the boy's throat as he sunk to his knees right in front of her. "Lucy…" He whispered with wide, glistening eyes as he reached a shaking hand to close over the cut on her arm. "I thought you stopped."

Her head tilted and her eyebrows scrunched. That was what made him look so sad? What made him look like he was in pain? "Why?"

"What?" His own eyebrows furrowed as he saw the confusion in her eyes.

"You care." She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth when her arm started to dully throb. "Why?"

"Why wouldn't I care?" He asked in bewilderment. Pulling his hand back, he cursed when he saw the amount of blood.

Her eyes lazily trailed after him as he got up to grab a washcloth from the cabinet above the sink, and he knelt back down in front of her and gently pressed the cloth against her arm. She watched in fascination as he cleaned her arm free of blood, so gently it was almost as if he was scared to hurt her. Her heart fluttered in her chest at the care he took in pressing a dry cloth over the now clean cut. Her cheeks heated up when finished and started to gently stroke the inside of her arm in a soothing manner.

After he sat there for a while, he took a deep breath and asked her softly, "Lucy? Does it really help?"

She blinked, startled by his words. No one had ever asked her that before, and to be honest, she really didn't know the answer.

He watched emotions flicker behind her eyes, and he regretted asking the question. "Hey." His voiced turned her attention back on him. "I want to take you somewhere."

"Where?" her voice was quiet and hesitant as he took both of her hands in his.

He gave her a warm smile as he gently pulled her to her feet, keeping a firm grip on her hands when she staggered slightly. "To a place that helps me."

Curiosity shone in her eyes and he let go of one of her hands to lead her out of the bathroom, but before he made more than two steps, she gripped his arm tightly with her free hand. He looked down at her with furrowed brows, noting the fear on her face. "What's wrong, Luce?"

She swallowed the nervous lump in her throat and shook her head, lowering her hand back down to her side.

"Hey."

Her eyes snapped up to his concerned ones, and her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to figure out why she was so… scared.

"Do you trust me?"

Did she trust him? He was the only person she could bring herself to talk to, he was the only one who cared, and he was the only one who actually spent time with her. Yes, she realized as she nodded her head. She did trust him.

"Then don't worry." He smiled as he gave her hand a squeeze. "I've got you."

She felt her apprehension leave her as he led her out of the bathroom and towards the door to her room. When they stepped out of the room and into the hallway, her eyebrows furrowed at how beyond empty it was. "Where is everyone?" She whispered.

He grinned at her. "Have you never come out here at night?" At the shake of her head, he chuckled. "Then you were doing what everyone else is supposed to be doing."

As he pulled her down the hallway, she smiled slightly. "You mean sleeping?"

He grinned and winked at her. "Exactly, but is that really what you do at night?"

She giggled and she could have sworn his footsteps faltered slightly. "Not always."

Her curiosity piqued when he opened a door that had the words "Employees only" in red letters.

When they went through the door, he held his finger to his smiling lips to tell her to be quiet, and she couldn't help the smile that stretched onto her lips at the mischievous gleam in his eyes. She couldn't help the few giggles that escaped her as they walked, and he would shush her with a grin every time.

When they got to the top of a staircase, Natsu took a key out of his pocket and put it in the lock of the door. He held open the door for her and after she stepped through, he followed and shoved a brick between the door to keep it open.

"Wow." Lucy breathed out as she stepped further out onto the rooftop. About half a mile away from the building, the twinkling lights of the city could be seen all around. However; there was no sound of cars, only the chirping of locusts.

"Nice, isn't it?" Natsu grinned as they stepped up to the railing.

"How did you find this?" She whispered as she placed her hands on the railing. When he didn't respond, she turned her head to look at him, frowning when she saw the sad expression on his face. "Natsu?"

He took a deep breath through his nose, and let it out slowly as he put his hand over hers on the railing. "When I first got here, I was so scared."

Her eyebrows rose and her eyes widened when she realized he was finally talking about himself, like she had asked so many times. Realizing that this probably wasn't easy for him, she gripped his hand between both of hers and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I thought my dad had abandoned me." He swallowed thickly before he continued. "I didn't understand what was going on, and I wouldn't listen to anybody. One day when I was running away from Laxus, I went this way. I saw the door to this place, but it was locked. So, I went through the office desk and found a key. I still have the key to this day. When I got up here, it was like…time stood still."

Her thumb was rubbing soothing circles over his thumb and she smiled when his furrowed eyebrows softened and a small smile grew on his face.

"When I'm up here, it's like it doesn't matter why I'm here and what I need to do to get better. Rules and schedules don't matter and I just feel…safe." He shifted to look her. "Does that make sense?"

"Yeah." She breathed with a smile. "It does give off that feeling."

Her whole body tensed when she felt a firm body press into her back, and her shoulders went rigid when two arms wrapped around them. She swallowed nervously when she felt his chin rest against her shoulder, and her face heated up when she felt his breath against her ear.

"Thank you."

Her whole body shivered at his hushed words. "F-For what?"

"For being my friend and…for staying with me."

She frowned, her tenseness leaving her at his words. Placing her hand on his forearm, she whispered. "Do people always leave you?"

He sighed, her hair moving with his breath. "Not everyone."

She tilted her head to rest against his. "Just the ones you really care about?"

"There was a girl here a while ago." She started tracing his forearm with her middle finger as he talked. "Her name was Lisanna, and we became best friends. We would dream of a future together, getting married and all that. We only felt truly safe with each other."

Lucy dropped her hand back down to the rail, her face falling for a reason she didn't know.

"She was discharged six months ago, and she promised she would visit me. I haven't seen her since. It's like she just disappeared."

Lucy breathed in through her nose and exhaled slowly, wondering why it bothered her. "Do you think you'll ever see her again?"

"I dunno." Natsu sighed and tightened his grip on her. "But when I get out of here, I'm gonna look for her."

"I'm sure you'll see her again, Natsu." She murmured lowly with a frown.

"You think so?" Her lips couldn't help but lift with the hopeful edge to his voice.

"I know so."

"Thanks, Luce."

As they stood there in a comfortable silence, gazing at the twinkling lights of the city, Lucy's eyebrows scrunched in thought. She had been able to pinpoint why most of the people were here, but she still didn't know why Natsu was.

"Hey, Natsu?"

He hummed in reply.

"Why are you here?"

Her lips turned down when he didn't reply, and she tried to turn to look at him, but he prevented her from moving. "…Natsu?"

"Why do you wanna know?"

She blinked at the almost harshness to his voice. "…Well…You know why I'm here…Everyone thinks they know why I'm here…I just wanna know more about you, I guess."

Her hair flipped upward at his sigh. "On my file, it says I'm a pyromaniac."

She blinked, that was definitely not what she was expecting. "Are you?"

A humorless chuckle passed through his lips. "I guess so."

Her head tilted. "What do you mean?"

"I think…that's a story for another night, Luce."

She sighed in frustration, but let it go. "Alright."

"Tell me somethin'."

"Sure." She replied immediately. He had trusted her with telling her as much as she did, so she would trust him too.

"How did you feel when you first got here?"

She focused on the lights as she tried to think about how she felt at the time. "Scared, lost, and confused." She felt a reassuring squeeze on both of her shoulders.

"And now?"

"Now?" She repeated, and her eyebrows furrowed as she felt him nod. "I'm not scared anymore."

"You still feel lost and confused?"

"Yes."

"Do you mind telling me why?"

She hummed. "I know why I'm here, and what everyone wants me to do. I know how I'm supposed to 'get better'. I just don't know what good it would do, or what's going to happen when I do get better. Will everything just go back to the way it was before I got here? Will my dad be…."

Natsu's eyebrows furrowed when she trailed off. "Will your dad be what?"

She didn't reply, she only shook her head.

"Luce?"

He waited a few more minutes, before he pulled away to turn her around. His eyes widened when he saw unshed tears glistening in her eyes. "Hey." He lifted his hands to cup both of her cheeks and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before he cradled her head against his chest and wrapped his arm around her. "It's gonna be okay." His eyebrows furrowed when she shook her head. Her dad was obviously a sore subject, but he didn't understand why she was shutting him out right then. "Come on, Luce. Please talk to me."

When she only shook her head again, his throat tightened. "Wanna go back to your room?" He sighed when she nodded, and he broke the hug. He wiped her tears with his thumbs and gave her a small smile, but she only stared at him blankly, and it made his chest hurt. "Come on then." He whispered and took her hand to pull her towards the door.

* * *

 **So, I feel like I owe everyone a huge apology for the long update waits.  
The reasons I haven't been updating are beecauuseee...Me and my fiance of 5 years broke up and he kicked me out, so I had to find a place to live. I wound up moving states and got an apartment, then I had to find a job, and wound up getting two jobs. Then I had to find a car, and then I got super lonely cuz I hate living alone, so I got a dog. Now I usually only have 1 day off a week, if that, and my dog is usually the priority on those days..buuuttt I'm trying really hard to update...I've got stuff written for a few stories, its just going slowly...so im sorry!**

 **I love you guys so much though! and I thank you soo much for your support! MY dog licks you!**


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